


Diamond in Disguise

by ExpressAndAdmirable



Series: The Heroes of Light [12]
Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game), Dungeons & Dragons - All Media Types, Final Fantasy I
Genre: Backstory, Gen, Missed Connections, Slice of Life, Tiefling, hang drum
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-26
Updated: 2017-12-26
Packaged: 2019-02-22 03:26:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 526
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13158279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ExpressAndAdmirable/pseuds/ExpressAndAdmirable
Summary: Lux tries to find the source of a sound and narrowly avoids meeting Morgan several months before they're chosen by destiny. Morgan invents the hang drum.





	Diamond in Disguise

It was the third time in two months Lux had heard it. An odd metallic sound, not unlike a harp, floating towards her on the breeze. It was always when she was in the market and always on warm, sunny days. The first time, she thought she had imagined it, which was not an unreasonable assumption. She was always hearing music in her head, though admittedly it was not usually so tuneless. The second time had convinced her she was not daydreaming; she had noticed a distinct improvement in the tones and composition, which could not be the result of her own flight of fancy. The third time, there was no doubt. It was absolutely real. She was determined to locate it.

Tilting an ear toward the strange melody, Lux set down the fruit she had been considering and started to make her way through the market. She lost the thread for a moment, ducked behind a stall to avoid the flow of traffic, found it again. The intensity with which she listened reminded her of a hunting dog, which would have made her feel silly were she not so intrigued by the noise. At least she did not earn herself any more confused looks than she would have received on a regular day. She reached the edge of the market and closed her eyes, concentrating on the direction of the air currents. Left. Off she went.

Lux followed the sound up a short flight of stone steps and emerged into a wide courtyard with a fountain in the centre. It was definitely coming from somewhere nearby, but the buildings ringing the fountain caused the music to echo and rebound, masking its exact location. Lux peered at each building, making a note of any with open windows or doors, then wandered slowly from one to the next.

Suddenly, it stopped. Lux waited for it to begin again, but it did not. She wandered past the next few open doors, hoping to see someone or something that might solve the mystery. One was a florist, another a chemist. The last appeared to be a locksmith or clockmaker, or perhaps both. She ducked her head inside the door frame, letting her eyes adjust to the dimness, but did not see a shopkeeper. A large dented bowl sat upside-down on the shop’s counter, as well as a pile of scrap metal and small tools. For a moment, she wondered if the bowl could be the source of the tune, but put the thought aside. Slightly disappointed, she lingered in the courtyard for a few moments before descending the steps back to the market.

The little woman stuck her head out from the back room of the shop. She knew she had heard something, but there were no customers waiting at the door. With a shrug and a scratch behind her ear, she climbed the ladder up to the counter and sat cross-legged before the bowl. Her tongue poked from the side of her mouth as she scrutinised her project. She was fairly certain she had invented an instrument, and by the gods, she was going to make it perfect.

**Author's Note:**

> Title song by Chance's End.
> 
> Follow me on Tumblr at @expressandadmirable for a proper table of contents for the Heroes campaign, commissioned character art, text-based roleplay snippets and more!


End file.
